The Secret Footballer: I know what failing to live up to a big transfer fee feels like, so can empathise – and Liverpool's previous problems with strikers from outside suggest part of the fault lies with their system

The Secret Footballer: Officials and players are sometimes complicit in cutting corners when it comes to transfer deals, though in general clubs now offer the best possible treatment for their young charges

The Secret Footballer: A captain should be the player above all others in whom one can absolutely confide but the politics mean you can spend more time arranging things off the field than getting things right on it